100 Poems For 100 Days (Days 1-7)

Posted on 31. Mar, 2009 by kahlilalmustafa.

Inauguration Day: January 20, 2009

Before the voters spoke
the people spoke
we marched
we begged
we petitioned
we demanded.

Before the people spoke the earth spoke.
The shift is ahead.     This is a beginning.

Listen closely
to your body
to the children
to the wisdom in the wind.
Fast any way possible:
food alcohol complaining tv.

The true battles wait.

Day 1: January 21, 2009

Along with millions
of other hope-

filled Americans
i tune into

America’s latest reality
television show: Black Prez –

From Auction
Block to Oval Office

Day 2: January 22, 2009

Martin
would celebrate this victory
and in the same breath
speak out against injustice.

I can hear
his voice trembling
comparing the bombing
of children in the West Bank
to Four Little Girls in an Alabama church.

From the pulpit
he would say, “keep marching”
and
WE
would listen.

Day 3: January 23, 2009

the dolls are coming,
The Obamas, collect
the whole set:
Michelle, Barack,

the kids, the dog.
Limited time
offer you could purchase your first
family today.

Day 4: January 24, 2009

I hope Barack Obama’s presidency
will help my family accept my wife

Maybe they will be able to imagine
the possibility
of a genuine
Black/White love relationship.

Day 5: January 25, 2009

There is no memory
of firehoses in Barack
Obama’s DNA

no memory
of women moaning
at the bottom

of slave ships, in
the crowds of millions
gathered. There is

no evidence of my parents
ever being here. I am
a survivor who dares to be
a witness.

Day 6: January 26, 2009

Today I woke up with that
Barack Obama swagger

I kissed my wife
scanned the day’s news
hit my desk without missing a beat

greeted everyone by their first names
flashed smiles, shook hands
and dished out low fives when appropriate.

I negotiated every encounter with
YES-but-how-‘bout-this
and got my way.

At the end of the day

I came around Secret Service picks
and shot jumpshots left-handed

came home
played with my kids

and made sure my lady
went to bed with a smile.

Day 7: January 27, 2009

This was no election

This was
a pep-rally

for imperialism

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